


Insta-Crush

by bottomchanyeol, krispy_kream



Category: EXO
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Fluff, M/M, Meddling Kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 03:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16987470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bottomchanyeol/pseuds/bottomchanyeol, https://archiveofourown.org/users/krispy_kream/pseuds/krispy_kream
Summary: School boy crushes aren’t supposed to keep happening when you’re both teachers. (and they’re definitely not supposed to make you instagram famous.)- This fanwork was written for round 2 of the bottom!Chanyeol fest [2018/19].





	Insta-Crush

**Author's Note:**

> If you are having a rainy day then this is the fic for you because NOTHING HAPPENS. I couldn’t not write for this prompt because it is too cute and needs to exist, so I hope you’ll all forgive me that it’s just mindless fluff. Thank you mods, for making the best fest ever, you all for reading, and Chanyeol for being so incredibly cute.

As far as overall aesthetics go, the instagram page is actually very good. There’s consistency in the filters, a healthy mix of closeups and full bodies, a well organized selection of story highlights, and a description framed in flower and music note emojis. But the content…

It’s all him and the english teacher. With hearts. So many hearts.

Okay, _admittedly_ , Chanyeol does have a small crush on the english teacher. They don’t see each other often but he is so handsome and cool and funny and when he smiles his face goes all soft and cute. It’s really unprofessional of him but Chanyeol cannot take his eyes off Mr. Do when he’s around.

He thought no one knew about it but somehow this account has more followers than there are girls at the school. Actually, there might be more followers than students but there’s no way, it’s not feasible that every student is following this instagram… Right?

Chanyeol is trying really hard to view this account as the invasion of privacy that it is but morbid curiosity is getting the better of him. This is pandora’s box. Within Chanyeol’s phone is a poisoned well of giddy school-boy crush fodder that is absolutely inappropriate and he should not look at it no matter how much he wants to save every picture of Mr. Do and maybe check the captions to see if they think Mr. Do likes him back.

No, no, no. He should just block the account, maybe report it, put it down and never look at it again. Or maybe he could try to figure out who is running it? It really is inappropriate, isn’t it his duty as a teacher to hold his students accountable?

… Yeah, sure, that’s a good enough excuse he thinks as he starts scrolling through the pictures.

All of the shots are on school grounds, and some of them are from his classroom which can only mean that one of his students is responsible. But there are also a few in the drama club room. So one of Mr. Do’s students is running it? Heaven forbid it’s multiple people, he’ll never find them. And he can’t investigate Mr. Do’s students without alerting Mr. Do to the offending instagram account and that is in no way, under any circumstances, ever allowed to happen.

He starts tapping pictures to read the captions in case there's any evidence or clues, but of course these account owners are very focused. The language is always so much more vague on Mr. Do’s pictures, not to mention there are way fewer solo shots of him. They say things like, “ _Is it love? We think so!_ ” or, “ _Who is on his mind, I wonder~_ ”

Meanwhile all the captions on the solo shots of Chanyeol say stuff like, “ _tfw someone mentions your crush_ ,” and “ _someone better study his shakespeare_.” Why are the account owners so much more sure of Chanyeol’s feelings?

He scrolls past a picture of himself that he is positive is of him watching Mr. Do walk down the hall. God, this _face_. Yeah, Mr. Do is never allowed to see this, he is so obvious, this is a disaster.

Focus, Chanyeol! This account needs to be stopped before Mr. Do can find out about it! He makes himself zero in on the pictures taken in the music room. They’re mostly from the same angle with only a few exceptions. If he can figure out where the photos are taken from he can narrow down his suspects. They’re pretty straight on towards the center podium, so maybe from the winds section? Or percussions, he wouldn’t put it past them, but it’s mostly boys back there. Chanyeol has a sinking suspicion that the people running this instagram are girls.

He’s still going through the account as he makes his way to homeroom, trying so hard not to get caught up in looking at every two shot of him and Mr. Do and failing miserably. Mr. Do is smiling in this one in a way that makes Chanyeol think he could read something into it, but the caption only says, “ _this Look_ ” which is infuriatingly unhelpful. What look? What does it look like, what does it _mean_?

“Texting your boyfriend, Mr. Park?” Wendy, one of his flutes, calls with a laugh as she scampers past him down the hall with a friend.

“I don’t-” he starts, but they are both already giggling to each other, already not listening. “Show your teachers some respect, Miss Son!”

Chanyeol glances down at his phone. Was he making a face thinking of Mr. Do just now…?

He looks back up at Wendy as she disappears into a classroom down the hall, parting from her friend with a wave. Her friend looks familiar, maybe she’s in Mr. Do’s drama club? Suspects One and Two.

He tucks his phone away as he heads into his own classroom (gotta set a good example) but he can’t set aside his thoughts so easily. It could be any girl in his class. Well, not ‘any’ he supposes, Seulgi is on the soccer team and hardly seems the type to care. But Joy and Yerim beside her, excitedly shoving a phone under her nose and giggling like Wendy and her friend had… oh, wow, yeah, it’s probably them.

“Alright, phones down,” Chanyeol calls out. He’s a little early, but he needs the head start to get his kids in order. “And this might seem sudden, but I hope you all know it’s inappropriate to post pictures of people without their permission on the internet.”

Joy’s hand shoots into the air immediately.

“What if you tag them in it?” She asks without waiting to be called on. “Also, unrelated, what’s your insta, Mr. Park?”

Chanyeol’s eyes narrow. He’s found his prime suspect.

“If you don’t have permission to take or post a picture, you cannot take or post it, Miss Park,” he says pointedly.

Joy just giggles like it’s nothing. Honestly, if she weren’t one of his best flutists she would have been kicked out of the orchestra long ago.

Homeroom proceeds without incident, but Chanyeol can't help the jittery suspicion that plagues his every interaction. It's bound to get worse when his music classes begin, maybe he should cancel orchestra for today? But no, he needs to find who's responsible, he's got to face these stalkers head on!

It’s hard, being suspicious of his own students. Well, no, that’s not true, he knows his kids have a _reputation_ as it were, but there’s a difference between anticipating weirdness and sussing out secret illicit activities. They’re good kids, and this instagram account probably doesn’t have bad intentions despite how unsettling it is. Still, it’s gotta stop.

The orchestra club is as chatty and rambunctious as it always is as his students pull out their instruments and get set up. It’s extremely normal, all things considered, but Chanyeol can’t help but sense an ominous tension as he stands at his podium and waits for them to settle down. Someone in this room is secretly using him for instagram fame. (And, more importantly, someone in this room _knows about his crush on Mr. Do_.)

“Alright everyone, you know what’s coming,” he begins, trying to sound natural. “We have to finalize our set list so we can start practicing.”

“No Mozart, _please_ ,” one of his cellists says immediately.

“I don’t know why we don’t just do the video game set list,” suggests someone from the clarinets.

“I don’t know any of those songs,” mutters his first violin.

The discussion descends into madness like it always does. This is why they still don’t have a set list even as the school festival looms on the horizon. Trying to be democratic has been a lot of work this year.

“I do like the video game set list,” Chanyeol mutters to himself. Then he says to his orchestra, “Come on, we want your parents to enjoy the show too.”

“Be real, Mr. Park,” Wendy suddenly says from the flute section. “Who are you actually looking to impress with this set list?”

Several kids laugh. Chanyeol blinks. He’s so caught off guard he doesn’t understand what she’s insinuating at first, not until he notices Joy sitting beside her with her phone propped up on her lap.

A picture of himself looking like a total dumbass flashes in his mind with the caption, “ _that face when someone mentions your crush_ ,” taken straight on as if from the flute section.

_Ohhh_.

“The principal, obviously,” Chanyeol says as a cover.

Groans erupt immediately from all over the room and small conversations break out amongst the students. He knows he’s dodged successfully when Joy’s phone drops flat onto her lap, her opportunity lost. Chanyeol is trying to get them all to settle down when there’s a knock at the door, followed by Mr. Do poking his head into the room.

Oh no, oh he is not prepared for this, oh god why is he so _handsome_? Chanyeol might die.

The room goes silent. Well, no it doesn’t because Joy starts snickering which sets off Wendy and then three other girls who don’t even sit near them stifle laughs as well. How far has this thing spread?

“M-mr. Do!” Chanyeol stammers before the silence can get too incriminating, already moving towards the door. “Isn’t this a surprise.”

“I just need a moment,” Mr. Do assures him as he steps back to let Chanyeol through.

Chanyeol tries to calm his racing heart. He’s always hyper aware of himself when he’s around Mr. Do, trying not to come on too strong, trying to read into their every interaction, but now that he’s aware of everyone _else_ being aware of him he’s in even more of a panic. Chanyeol glances back at his students and sees that Joy’s phone is propped up again and pointing right at him. Damnit.

He closes the door behind him with a bit too much force, he’s so eager to get their eyes off him.

“I know you’re here late a lot,” Mr. Do begins, a small smile playing at his lips like he’s just remembered a joke. “I wanted to make sure you remembered the club advisor meeting today.”

Damn, he is really cute when he smiles up at him like that, Chanyeol’s head is sort of turning into fuzz before the words have a chance to register.

“O-oh,” he stammers as his mind catches up. “Right, yes, that’s today, for the festival, I was just talking with the kids about that.”

“Do you have your songs picked out?” Mr. Do asks.

“Not yet, they’re still fighting about the theme. Do you know what your club is doing?”

“We have some options,” Mr. Do says with a glance down the hall to his own club room. “They should be voting on it right now.”

“Oh, you should tell me what they pick,” Chanyeol says, excited that they’re talking, desperate for a reason to keep talking. “It’d be neat i-if our clubs matched.”

A wide smile breaks out across Mr. Do’s face.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” he says like he really means it.

Screw being democratic. Chanyeol is going to hand pick his orchestra set list based on Mr. Do’s drama club and no one is going to stop him.

“I’ll let you get back in there,” Mr. Do says, still smiling up at him. And maybe Chanyeol is predisposed to see more than is there, but Mr. Do looks excited, maybe even fond. It makes Chanyeol’s chest flutter to a truly embarrassing degree. “See you later?”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol manages to say, kind of breathless. “Thanks for,” stopping by, smiling at me, being handsome, “for the reminder.”

Mr. Do nods and turns to head back down the hall towards the drama club room and Chanyeol has to stop himself from breaking out into a dance. Mr. Do thought of him, Mr. Do wants their performances to match! Mr. Do maybe sort of likes him, at least as a friend, and that’s more than Chanyeol felt confident in saying before.

_Let’s play some music!_ he wants to shout to the whole world, but when he opens the door to the music room Joy and Wendy are right there, hunched slightly like they had their ears pressed against it. He's caught them red handed.

“So it is you,” he snaps as he closes the door behind him. His elation is quickly replaced with annoyance at being stalked by his own students and they have the audacity to look not even a little sheepish. “You girls need to shut down that instagram account immediately.”

“But Mr. Park!” Joy shoots back. “You can’t honestly want me to delete a picture like _this_!”

She shoves the phone in his face and… oh no. It’s magnificent, beautiful, a work of art. It’s a picture of Mr. Do with a smile that’s just starting to break out on his face in that holy middle ground between gentle fondness and hardlined stoicism that just exudes Hot Dad vibes. (Not that he thinks about him like that!!!) It’s not a picture that was on the account, but it probably will be soon.

He wants it as his phone background.

Chanyeol stares hard at the picture to ingrain it in his memory and forces himself to say, “Yes. Delete it.”

“I can send it to you,” Joy says with a smirk.

He takes a long, deep breath through his nose. He is a responsible adult!

“Delete it.”

“Mr. Park, please!” Wendy whines, dropping her head back dramatically. “Have you seen how many likes this picture of you and Mr. Do got? Even if they close the account it’s not gonna be any less obvious that you like him.”

_That's not the point_ , he tries to say, but it doesn't come out. It kind of is, honestly, because his primary concern this whole time has been Mr. Do finding out about his crush and nothing else.

“……. is it that obvious?” he finally asks after a long moment like the least responsible adult on this earth.

“When’s the wedding, honestly,” Wendy says.

“We can help set you two up,” Joy offers.

“Good god, no,” Chanyeol groans. This is going to be a very unproductive club meeting.

\---

The story on their account updates, just as expected, and Yerim opens it eagerly to see. It’s good, it’s so cute, she knows this look in Mr. Do’s eyes, she is an expert, and that is _love_. But Mr. Park seems oddly reserved, maybe jittery? She’ll have to ask Joy, she has more experience with him, maybe she’ll know what’s up. At least he is still doing his signature Park Crouch, hunching his shoulders and dipping his head in a futile attempt to be slightly more eye-level with Mr. Do, 100% certifiable special treatment. Love is real.

The door closes behind them and the story ends. Yerim takes in a deep breath.

“Just kiss!!” she shouts at her phone.

It catches Irene’s attention and she leans away from her script and her scene partner to lean over and peak at Yerim’s phone.

“Are they still in love?” she asks, her fingers resting delicately against her jaw, still slightly in character.

“They’re so in love,” Yerim whines as she starts the story up again.

Irene sighs as she watches. “God, just kiss already,” she mutters.

“Right!?”

Irene hums as she sits upright again. Her scene partner has already given up on her and moved to read lines with someone else which is, honestly, so fair. Irene is in business mode, they have gay teachers to discuss.

“... I may have an idea that will involve a great deal of collaboration between the drama club and the orchestra,” she muses as a grin spreads across her face.

“Oh?” Yerim says as she leans forward with interest.

\---

There’s a new story on the account by the end of orchestra, not that Chanyeol is up to date on it or anything. It is, predictably, a video of him leaving the music room to talk with Mr. Do with the text “A surprise visit” overlaid at the top with one of those emojis of the two hearts floating around each other. He looks like a nervous wreck in it, but maybe he only thinks that because he knows he was a nervous wreck at the time.

Chanyeol had managed to weasel out of Joy that she co-runs the account with Yerim who is in Mr. Do’s drama club, and that Yerim’s expert opinion is that Mr. Do does like him back. Whether she’s an expert on Mr. Do or love, they didn’t say but Yerim is only 15 years old, what could she possibly know about either of those things? (He says this to himself constantly to force himself to take that statement with a grain of salt.)

The terrifying thing about confirming that Joy and Wendy have cohorts in the drama club is that he can’t police all their meddling. He should probably be more concerned with getting the instagram account shut down, but Wendy has a point; stopping the account won’t stop them from knowing about his crush and trying to do something about it. The last thing Chanyeol needs is a bunch of high school girls trying to interfere with his love life.

Chanyeol locks his phone and shoves it into his pocket to make himself stop thinking so hard. If he keeps this up, the other teachers are going to start accusing him of having a secret boyfriend. As much as he doesn’t want Mr. Do to find out about his crush he absolutely cannot let Mr. Do think he’s spoken for. He’s gotta act natural, act like nothing has changed, make it look like his dignity isn’t at stake.

“Mr. Park.”

Chanyeol _squeaks_ in surprise. Mr. Do is waiting for him at the door to the meeting room, leaning against the frame just outside while the other club advisors chat inside. It’s wholly unprecedented; he’s been in plenty of meetings with Mr. Do before and they’ve never waited for each other outside. Chanyeol wonders if he’s late, or if he missed the whole thing, or if something has gone wrong. But Mr. Do simply looks up at him, his face as neutral as always. There’s no way Yerim is an “expert” on reading Mr. Do, it’s an impossible task.

“Mr. Do,” Chanyeol manages to say, choking on the words a little more than he really wants to.

Mr. Do hoists himself away from the door and approaches him before he can go inside.

“One of my students suggested something interesting that I wanted to run by you,” he starts. “I take it your students aren’t any closer to agreeing on a set list?”

“We might just play what we’re already good at at this point,” Chanyeol says with a laugh.

“My students are going with Arabian Nights, which is quite the epic fantasy. How would you feel about having the orchestra provide the soundtrack to our play?” Mr. Do asks. “We can work in some interludes to make sure both clubs have a chance to shine.”

Chanyeol tries really hard not to go blank, but he is completely caught off guard. The soundtrack? As in the background music? He’s heard of the play, it’s got great potential for music, but can his orchestra handle something like this? Actually, he’s sure they can, his orchestra is incredible despite all the trouble his kids give him. The real question is can _he_ handle it?

“That--that sounds amazing,” Chanyeol says because how could he not. “I’ll come up with some song ideas tonight, and you should tell me if you or-or your students have requests.”

Mr. Do smiles at him, big and gummy and scrunching up his whole face. Chanyeol practically melts on the spot.

“You should come by and watch a runthrough tomorrow too,” he suggests. “Get some ideas started.”

“Oh, wow, yeah,” Chanyeol stutters, his heart already hammering at the thought. What deity among students does he have to thank for this opportunity? “You have some mighty clever kids, Mr. Do.”

Is Mr. Do… smirking at him?

“We’ll be working together a lot, you can call me Kyungsoo.”

Chanyeol could just die, this is the greatest thing that has ever happened to him.

\---

The orchestra takes the idea almost as well as Chanyeol had, and they don’t even have vested interests. The song suggestions come flying at him in an instant and after a few minutes Chanyeol has the whiteboard covered in titles and composers haphazardly grouped together by potential scene type. They don’t even know what the play is like, but they’re ready and willing.

He ends club early so he can go watch the drama club, asking for a few volunteers to come take notes. He expects his first chairs to come along, especially his first violin Jihoon, but he really should not be surprised that Joy and Wendy want to come along as well.

Joy raises her hand to volunteer with such ferocity, too. It makes Chanyeol wish she would put half as much enthusiasm into her grades.

He’s got his kids with him so Chanyeol can’t afford to look like a nervous wreck despite how much he really just wants to fidget and check his hair and dilly dally instead of going into the drama club room. Joy and Wendy stare at him expectantly, obviously ready for new content for their damned instagram account. Chanyeol takes a deep breath and steels his expression as he knocks on the door like a normal human adult. Their days of getting easy content off him are over!

As soon as Chanyeol steps into the room and sees Kyungsoo, his heart seizes up and he can feel his expression soften into something probably very stupid.

"There you are, Chanyeol," Kyungsoo greets them with a smile. "Pardon, Mr. Park."

Something extremely embarrassing flutters in Chanyeol's chest at having Kyungsoo call his name like that, something that he really hopes he gets used to fast before all his cards just scatter to the floor in a love sick mess. He tries to laugh it off as his kids file in, more than a few of them finding friends and sitting near them. Yerim's face is lit up like new years which can't be a good sign.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," he says.

"Nonsense," Kyungsoo assures him. "It's about time we started a full run through."

Chanyeol takes a seat near the back of the room so he can keep an eye on his kids as they all watch. Jihoon sits beside him, pen in hand and ready to take notes. The drama kids are all still very on book. It makes their delivery stiff and their blocking belated, but the story comes through well enough and the slow pace of it gives him time to write out notes and think of music.

He starts off with a flurry of ideas for the intro, a couple different ways to set the scene and play into the opening lines. He thinks maybe he's got this on lock until there's a small pause in the action; someone has to restart their line and someone else is standing on the wrong side and he hears Kyungsoo chuckle from where he's sat near the front. Chanyeol chances a glance and then he's caught, mesmerized by the sight. Kyungsoo's smile is so bright, so fond, he clearly loves his club and his kids. It shows in the way he watches them all so closely, how he nods in approval when someone tries an enthusiastic reading or recovers from a stumble. It's precious and kind of inspiring and Chanyeol can't help but glance his way every other line.

There's a scene change which should be a perfect opportunity to scribble down some notes like his first violin is, but Chanyeol is too busy watching Kyungsoo nod along to the final beats of the scene and maybe noticing how nice his legs look stretched out in front of the stool he's propped against.

There's a giggle from the other side of the room and Chanyeol remembers himself just in time to see Joy and Wendy glancing back at him. Crap, caught red handed. He turns back to the stage as the next scene begins and sees Yerim glancing his way, she and the girl beside her both trying to stifle their own smiles. Okay, definitely time to focus before more incriminating evidence ends up on instagram.

He kind of recovers, catching up to the action of the play and getting back to taking notes, but then there's another goddamn giggle and he wasn't even looking at Kyungsoo. He glances over at Joy to glare at her and sees her and Wendy eyeing... Kyungsoo?

Chanyeol turns to Kyungsoo, play forgotten, and sees him hyper focused on the scene in front of him, his face blank in a way it hasn't been since Chanyeol arrived. His ears also look red and Chanyeol only notices that because he was kinda staring before. What the heck did he miss?

Now he is distracted again and the rest of the play sort of washes over him in a blur as his eyes keep flicking between the students and Kyungsoo, so desperate for some hint as to what happened to change his demeanor so suddenly.

Chanyeol doesn't get his answer, but the play ends and Kyungsoo goes back to being a proud club advisor. Chanyeol takes a glance around the room at his own students and feels a bit of pride himself; they've got a lot of good ideas to go over.

"Alright guys," Chanyeol says, glancing down at Jihoon's notebook and sees it nearly covered in fine scribbles. "Looks like we got a lot of good ideas to sort through so let's get to it."

While his students gather up, Kyungsoo steps up to Chanyeol at the side of the room.

"Thanks for coming by. Was it helpful?" he asks.

"Oh yeah," Chanyeol says even if his own notes are pitiful. "It's looking great already, your kids are really something."

"Yeah," Kyungsoo agrees with the softest of smiles for his students. Chanyeol is pretty sure he's melting. "I think it's going to be a good show."

"I'll see to it that it is," Chanyeol tells him.

The look Kyungsoo turns on him is something truly special. It's warm and fond and maybe a little expectant. There's a shine to his eyes that Chanyeol has never seen before and it makes his breath catch. He wouldn't say he knows Kyungsoo well, but he can see that this is him in his element, this is the stuff he lives for and it warms Chanyeol's heart to see it, to be a part of it.

He might have a bit more than a crush at this point.

His kids are ready to head back, so Chanyeol has them take their leave before he can do anything embarrassing. Kyungsoo sees them off with a nod and a smile and Chanyeol can hear him call for notes on the run through even from the hall. It's going to be a great show.

Chanyeol's heart is still sort of racing as he leads his kids back to the music room, a little too out of sorts to talk with his first chairs like he usually would. Luckily they're content to talk excitedly amongst themselves but he should know better. His silence is extremely telling.

\---

"Are you sure they're not banging?" is the first thing Chanyeol hears as he walks into homeroom the next morning.

It's Seulgi of all people, the one girl in his class he thought couldn't care less. But here they are, his class going silent before a wave of laughter passes through them as Chanyeol stands in the doorway and stares at where Yerim and Joy are once again shoving a phone under her nose.

"Miss Park," Chanyeol says with pointed ferocity as he walks to his desk. "What kind of rumors are you trying to start so early in the morning?"

"Why me!" Joy whines as she settles back into her seat properly.

Chanyeol knows exactly what they were showing Seulgi to elicit such a response. He knows he shouldn't be keeping tabs on the instagram account but he can't help it now that he knows. They had caught him… ogling Kyungsoo. Of all the moments they could have caught him distracted the day before, of all the pictures they undoubtedly took, they picked the one where Chanyeol’s eyes had drifted downwards and his thoughts had drifted very far away. And the caption, “ _eyes up here, Mister_ ,” was most certainly Joy’s handiwork. (Her captions are always more vulgar than Yerim’s.) They knew exactly what Chanyeol had been thinking. It’s god awful, he's truly a mess, anyone with half a brain cell would be able to see it with this.

He kind of wishes he didn't know about the account at this point, ignorance had been better. But now he gets a play by play of how obvious his crush is every day and he never knows when someone will say something like Seulgi had where Kyungsoo can hear it.

There’s not much time before class starts, but Chanyeol stalks over to where Joy sits and looms over her with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“I see you had some ulterior motives for coming to Mr. Do’s class,” he says.

“Yerim took pictures too,” Joy tries to argue as she sinks further down into her seat.

“But Yerim isn’t the one who went out of her way on purpose to get them,” he points out. Then he turns to Yerim and adds, “Yes, I’m on to you both. No, I don’t want your help.”

“Please, Mr. Park, you hardly need our help, you both just need a little push,” Yerim tries to insist but Chanyeol has heard this already.

“Don’t,” he snaps. “I could have you both expelled for that instagram account, don’t push this any further. Understood?”

Joy and Yerim both give him an unenthusiastic “Yes, Mr. Park,” as they sulk in their seats but Seulgi watches the whole exchange with something like interest and he can tell by the hush in the room that he has the attention of his whole homeroom class.

He really did need to set some boundaries, he just hopes he didn’t get that account more followers in the process.

\---

“What’s this I hear about Mr. Park yelling at you guys?” Wendy asks as soon as she sits down to join them for lunch.

“Please don’t tell me we’re going to talk about how gay our teachers are all break again,” Seulgi says.

“But you agree with us!” Joy cries.

“Just because I can tell they’re thirsty for each other doesn’t mean I’m hung up on it like you guys.”

“On the plus side, we officially have everyone in our class following us now,” Yerim chimes in.

“I mean, other than Mr. Park,” Joy adds.

“He stalks it though, obviously.”

“Do you think we should tone it down? He seemed kind of mad about our last post.”

Irene hums. “I wouldn’t worry about Mr. Park reporting you to the school,” she says. “If it were just you, Joy, then he’d have no problem, but Yerim is in the drama club. If she gets in trouble, Mr. Do will want to know why and you said Mr. Park is more concerned about that than the actual contents.”

“He definitely has a conflict of interest,” Wendy agrees.

“So what?” Seulgi asks around a mouthful of her lunch. “Are you guys just gonna shove ‘em in a closet, seven minutes in heaven style?”

Joy and Yerim’s jaws drop as they turn to each other in unbridled excitement.

\---

They almost have a full set list. It's still a work in progress, but they've got more than enough decided on to start practicing in earnest. He's never lead an orchestra to accompany a play, so they'll need all the practice they can get. Of course, getting his kids on track is never that easy.

"Shouldn't you show the set list to Mr. Do?" Joy asks before club can start properly. Of course she does.

He'd ignore the suggestion, except Jihoon _agrees_ for some reason.

"Oh yeah, ask him what he thinks of that Vivaldi piece too, since we're all on the fence about it."

"Oh," Chanyeol says, a little dumbfounded but Jihoon has a point. (And his words have a great deal more weight than Joy's, as the first violin.) "Maybe later, that monologue scene needs so much work."

"Shouldn't you go now before Mr. Do has a chance to get caught up in club stuff?" Joy insists.

_Why do you care_ , Chanyeol almost says but his mouth twitches as he realizes he can't really publicly refute decent logic when no one else can tell how double edged it is.

"... Alright. Jihoon, lead the warm up and a run through of the sonata for act two."

"Got it."

Joy looks like she's about to crush her phone in her grip as she watches Chanyeol leave the club room, but he can't worry about that now when he needs to calm his heart in preparation for talking with Kyungsoo. He's managed not to say anything stupid so far but it's really only a matter of time as they start to spend more time together.

The drama club room is already in a clamor getting set up. Chanyeol pokes his head into the room, but he doesn't see Kyungsoo anywhere. Unfortunately, it's Yerim who catches sight of him and bounds over to him with a suspicious grin on her face.

"Hi Mr. Park!" she says.

"Hi Yerim," he says rather reluctantly. This has got to be part of some scheme. "Is Mr. Do around?"

"He's searching for some props in the supply room. I can show you," she offers.

He almost turns her down but, again, sound logic by an outsider's perspective. His mouth is a thin line as he nods and Yerim shows him to the end of the hall where the storage rooms are.

"Mr. Do!" she calls into the dim closet. "Mr. Park is here to see you."

"Oh," Kyungsoo says, looking up from the box he's searching through. "Cha--I mean, Mr. Park. What can I do for you?"

"My kids thought it'd be good to get your feedback on our set list so far," Chanyeol explains as he steps into the room. "We're still deciding on a few things, and it is your play."

"I'd be happy to-" he starts.

The door behind Chanyeol suddenly shuts and the distinct sound of a lock latching into place follows immediately.

Shit, he knew it. He _knew_ it!

Chanyeol whips around immediately and tries the door, but of course it won't budge.

"Fuck," he mutters.

"Is it... locked?" Kyungsoo asks, stepping up right behind Chanyeol to peer around his arm at the doorknob Chanyeol is still clutching desperately.

"Yeah," Chanyeol sighs, "Sorry, it's-" but he cuts himself off. He can't tell Kyungsoo that he knows Yerim locked them in here on purpose, that they're stuck in here because Chanyeol let himself fall for an obvious trap. Fuck.

"Sorry for what?" Kyungsoo asks him of course, looking up at him with large, curious eyes.

Chanyeol gets lost in them for a moment, glancing Kyungsoo up and down, taking in how close they are, how dangerously not unwelcome their confinement is. But he shakes his head. This is a trap laid by literal children who are trying to manipulate their own teachers, not at all romantic.

"Nothing," he says quickly. "I guess we're stuck."

Kyungsoo only hums, still looking up at Chanyeol like he's looking for something or considering him. It strikes Chanyeol kind of suddenly that Kyungsoo is standing almost unreasonably close to him. The closet is cramped, but he has ample room to step back. Not that Chanyeol wants him to, he could stand this close all day. They’re close enough to entwine their fingers despite their height difference, close enough to see the stars in his eyes, close enough to...

"Uh," Chanyeol says eloquently.

A small smile breaks out on Kyungsoo's face that tilts up into a smirk, but his eyes are still so bright it doesn't feel threatening or like he's being made fun of.

"You said you wanted me to look at your set list?" Kyungsoo says.

"Oh! Yeah! Yes," Chanyeol stammers as he holds up the list. It feels a little weird to hold it out to him because Kyungsoo is standing so close, but he does what he can, nearly pushing it into Kyungsoo's chest. It really feels dangerous to still be this close. Chanyeol keeps feeling lost in Kyungsoo's eyes, distracted by how irresistibly handsome he is and feeling the urge to do something about it.

Kyungsoo just watches him for a moment, then his face scrunches all the way up with the force of his smile and he finally takes a step back.

"Let's have a look," he says, finally taking the set list. "You'll have to help me out with some of these songs, I don't know much classical."

"Yeah, of course, I can pull them up on youtube or something," Chanyeol says, digging out his phone from his back pocket.

Kyungsoo takes a seat on a low crate as he looks the list over, considering each song seriously before looking to the next.

"What's this one you've got listed for the first monologue?" he asks, looking up at Chanyeol.

"It's the second movement of a symphony," Chanyeol explains as he comes to take a seat next to Kyungsoo. "I'll show you."

Chanyeol unlocks his phone, but he forgot the last thing he had open was that damn instagram account. He checks it every break to make sure he hasn't done anything stupid in the recent past, but the last time he'd looked he had sort of gotten caught up looking at some lovely pictures of Kyungsoo glancing to the side with a shy smile on his face. As soon as his phone opens it's just full of Kyungsoo's face and Chanyeol sort of squeaks and hastily presses the home button before Kyungsoo can see.

Kyungsoo tilts his head in question.

"Uuuuh, it's nothing. Where's youtube, uhhh.”

Chanyeol swipes past the screen with youtube on it once, then it takes him three tries to type out the name of the symphony, his hands turning clumsy in a way that only happens under intense scrutiny. Kyungsoo just watches him fumble patiently, then leans a little closer when the search results come up.

“This one,” Chanyeol tells him as he picks the first result, then skips the video forward to get to the part he means. The music plays from his phone speakers, quiet at the start with a slow build.

Kyungsoo closes his eyes as he listens, his shoulder pressing into Chanyeol’s arm and Chanyeol does his very best to not move a muscle to make sure he stays like that.

“... This is for Scheherazade?” Kyungsoo asks after a moment.

“Yeah.”

“It’s good… Can I hear the song you picked for the fight scene?”

“Yeah! And after that, let me show you this theme for Alibaba we’ve got. We’re all on the fence about it, I’d like your input.”

Chanyeol forgets they’re locked in a closet. He’s got no room to think about it between his excitement at getting to show off the set list and the warmth that radiates from Kyungsoo where their thighs are almost pressed together. His heart is beating a little too far up his chest to relax, but he can put up with a few butterflies if it means being this close, if it means sharing his enthusiasm with Kyungsoo who looks just as onboard as he is. Kyungsoo doesn’t seem like he cares about being in a closet either as he looks over the song list again with a smile playing at his lips that he probably doesn’t realize is there. It’s a good look on him, his passion for their project looks good on him.

Yeah, Chanyeol doesn’t mind being locked in a closet like this at all right now.

There’s a knock at the door, then a rattle, then another knock.

“Mr. Do, we wanted to start the run through now,” comes a voice Chanyeol doesn’t even recognize.

“Oh, we probably should get back,” Kyungsoo muses as he stands and fishes something out of his pocket.

As he fishes _keys_ out of his pocket.

“Wait, you-” Chanyeol starts, but Kyungsoo already has the door unlocked and open and is smiling back at him like nothing was ever amiss.

“Let’s set up a meeting so I can hear the rest of the songs, I really like it so far,” Kyungsoo says.

“Uh, sure…”

Kyungsoo’s smile tilts into a smirk.

“I’ll see you then, Mr. Park,” he says with a nod and then he and his student are heading back to their club room.

Chanyeol has no idea what just happened. He stands in the doorway of the storeroom for a moment, dazed, before his mind finally fizzles out completely and he wanders back to the music room, back to where things make some sort of sense.

\---

School work slows down as the festival looms closer and club work ramps up to replace it. Saturdays from here on are fully dedicated to set up and practice, especially now that Chanyeol finally has a full set list, including interludes and rewritten background pieces to match the flow of each scene. The drama club is spending their first all day saturday session building the set and, in the spirit of cooperation they tell him, his kids offered to help.

So here Chanyeol is, early Saturday morning at the school in shorts and a ratty t-shirt ready to get his hands dirty. Ok, this is not his Ratty Painting Shirt, he actually kind of likes it, he looks pretty good in it, but he's ready to sacrifice it for the greater good. He's still a teacher, he's gotta look presentable (even if he never worries about looking presentable for his own students when they put in overtime for competitions).

The gym is in a general state of mess, but it's mostly drama club mess for now. There's piles of pre-cut planks of wood stacked up in front of the stage and several rolls of parchment paper nearly as tall as the door plus more cans of paint than Chanyeol can fathom a reason for. Kyungsoo must have been prepping for stage building for a while now to have this much ready so quickly.

There aren't too many students yet, but the usual suspects are here first thing, which is what he should have expected. Joy and Yerim, of course, but also Wendy and Irene, who he's taken to thinking of as the account's assistants. They may not have posting permissions, but he knows they contribute to the content the same as the others. Well, it's fine. If content from today shows up on that instagram feed it will be of him showing off his great arms, he's been working on them lately. (He maybe has some ulterior motives of his own for wanting to help build the set.)

"Morning, Chanyeol," Kyungsoo calls from the stage when Chanyeol comes in. He's already got the sleeves of his t-shirt rolled up to his elbows and a towel tied around his forehead. He's getting worse at remembering to call him "Mr. Park" around their students and it's honestly adorable. Maybe their clubs are close enough now that they can get away with it.

Chanyeol is maybe a little speechless for a moment. Apparently he isn't the only one with arms to show off. He could always tell Kyungsoo had some meat on his bones despite how much smaller he feels next to Chanyeol, but now he can see it. Kyungsoo is tanned all the way up his arms in a honey brown that fades only a little bit at the top of his shoulder. If this is what his arms look like then Chanyeol isn't sure he could handle the rest of him. (That doesn’t stop him from hoping for an excuse to see it, though.)

"Hey Kyungsoo," Chanyeol finally remembers to call back as he approaches the stage and the general chaos of supplies at his feet. "I didn't know you were this much a morning person."

"I was just looking forward to today," Kyungsoo tells him. "I'll be grumpy by next week."

"In that case, how do you take your coffee so I can come prepared next time," Chanyeol says with a laugh. Belatedly, he regrets everything; was that too much? Is he being too forward? Are they this kind of friends already?

But Kyungsoo just laughs back with that smirk of a smile he's been favoring lately, a glint of something Chanyeol can't decipher in his eyes. He's sure Yerim has some ideas but he can't bring himself to ask about it.

Kyungsoo is apparently taking orders from the director just like everyone else, so when they're spotted, Chanyeol is whisked away to hold up and hammer planks while Kyungsoo gets back to setting up the lights.

Being seperated gives Chanyeol the chance to get friendly with Kyungsoo's students. He didn't think about it too much before, so preoccupied with his crush that he never stopped to consider that maybe a collaboration between their clubs was a long time coming. They're good, energetic kids and Chanyeol likes them a lot. It's a different kind of chaos from his orchestra, similar to his percussion kids when they’re turned up to one hundred, but it's fun. The students all mesh well in a way that only performers can.

It's him and a few other boys that are tasked with erecting the frame of the set. It's all heavy lifting and tough hammering so it's understandable. The students look a bit like they're fooling around with every step they take, but they do work diligently and seriously when sharp nails and large beams are involved.

"You sure you got that, Mr. Park?" one asks as Chanyeol reaches up to hammer in a plank no one else can reach.

"I got it," he insists, his words sort of strained as he overreaches to hammer it in without a ladder. "Wait, shit."

The plank slips, and his grip gets lost along with it. The hammer falls to the floor with a large bang without incident, but the nail falls a little too close to Chanyeol's face for comfort. He flinches hard enough to send the plank careening into the flesh of his arm and the corner of the wood scrapes so hard against his skin that it tears more than enough to bleed.

"Fuck!" he can't help but shout as the plank crashes to the ground. "Ow, damn."

Kyungsoo is there in a moment.

"What happened," he asks in a rush, taking in how Chanyeol is holding his arm as his eyes scan the whole scene for other injuries.

"I just dropped a thing, everyone is fine," Chanyeol assures him even as the gash on his arm starts to burn.

"Let me see," Kyungsoo insists. He's clearly gone full teacher mode as he steps up to Chanyeol and pulls his hand away to see the extent of the damage. "We can't leave this alone."

"I'm fine, really, I can just," Chanyeol starts kind of out of habit, mostly because he doesn't want Kyungsoo thinking he's a fucking clutz.

"How are you gonna wrap this with one hand? This needs more than a band aid, Chanyeol."

"Uh."

"Can you take him to the nurse's office, Mr. Do?" his director says before Chanyeol can think of a way to fight it. "We've got the set handled."

Chanyeol can't help but glance around the gym for Joy and Yerim. It feels like another trap but, while they are of course watching intently, they're all the way across the room working with the craft paper and the director was nowhere near them. Is the director also just in on it? Chanyeol can't even remember the guy's name, but what if he follows the instagram? What if he's a spy, what if this is all an elaborate ruse to lock them in a closet again? Chanyeol doesn't think his heart can take it.

But Kyungsoo is already nodding and telling the boys Chanyeol was with to grab a ladder and assuring the others that he'll be back soon.

"Let's go?" Kyungsoo says, still holding Chanyeol’s hurt arm. "I think the nurse isn't here today."

Why does that sound so ominous to Chanyeol right now? Still, he nods and they leave the gym behind.

"Bit off more than you could chew there?" Kyungsoo asks him as they walk down the halls.

"I guess," Chanyeol admits with a shaky laugh. "What else am I so tall for, you know?"

"How am I going to trust you to grab stuff off the top shelves for me now?" Kyungsoo suddenly asks with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"I'm more than capable!" Chanyeol sputters but Kyungsoo just laughs.

"I'm sure you are, just don't hurt yourself like this again."

"I will do my best," Chanyeol says even though he knows the urge to show off around Kyungsoo is not something he can help.

Just as Kyungsoo predicted, the school nurse isn't in. Chanyeol takes a seat as Kyungsoo digs around for disinfectant and gauze. He seems to be extremely familiar with this office. Chanyeol doesn't have much occasion to come here as a music teacher, but drama kids must get up to a bit more trouble than musicians.

"You sure do know your way around a first aid kit, huh?" Chanyeol asks.

"Unfortunately," Kyungsoo says as he loads up a cotton ball with disinfectant. "I know a few overachieving boys like you."

Kyungsoo glances up at Chanyeol with a smirk and Chanyeol can't help the flush that spreads across his cheeks.

"Oh."

"It doesn't look too bad," Kyungsoo says as he cleans it off. "But I hate that I'm the reason you hurt yourself."

"What? You didn't, I did this to myself," Chanyeol insists even as he bites his lip at the sting.

"You're here helping me," Kyungsoo explains, his eyes trained intently on Chanyeol's arm and the bandage he's wrapping around it. "And this joint performance was my idea. You're doing way more work than you need to and you hurt yourself helping."

"It's worth it," Chanyeol can't help but say, watching the way Kyungsoo's hands work their way around his forearm. They falter at his words and Chanyeol can feel where their skin brushes in the sudden quiet of the room. "The extra work, staying late, even getting hurt. I don't mind."

Kyungsoo finally looks up at him but his face is... not blank, but Chanyeol doesn't know how to explain it. It's soft, quiet, dare he say hopeful? They're still for a moment, his arm only mostly bandaged and Kyungsoo's hand resting gently on it. It feels like something passes between them, something like anticipation, and Chanyeol can't help but glance down at Kyungsoo's lips. Maybe he's just a hopeless romantic, but it feels like that sort of quiet, the kind of quiet that means they're both waiting for the same thing. If Kyungsoo notices how Chanyeol's eyes stray, he doesn't show it, doesn't flinch.

But eventually Kyungsoo swallows and drops his eyes. He carefully goes back to finishing off the bandage.

"Well," he starts, his words a touch stilted. "Don't hurt yourself anymore anyway."

"Yeah," Chanyeol agrees. "That'd get in the way of everything else."

Kyungsoo finishes off the bandage and tapes it off in silence, his eyes focused down again. He doesn't look up right away when he's done. Instead his fingers linger, his hand resting on Chanyeol's arm where skin and bandage meet.

"I'm glad this time wasn't a trap," he mutters.

"Huh?"

Kyungsoo pats Chanyeol's arm without the gentle consideration he'd been using before and looks up at him.

"How's that? Not too tight?" he asks.

The sudden shift throws Chanyeol off and now he doesn't have time to ask what he'd said before.

"It's great. Thanks."

Kyungsoo smiles at him, his face squishing up slightly, and he stands.

"Let's get back to it, then?"

Chanyeol flexes his arms playfully with a grin and says, "I'm ready to work!"

Kyungsoo laughs and they head back to the gym together. And maybe it's Chanyeol's imagination, but it feels like they're walking a little closer together than they usually do.

\---

"Can you believe this," Joy says, swiping through her photo roll at all the A+ content Mr. Park and Mr. Do have been giving them. There's too much, honestly. She didn't think it was possible. "Did they ask each other out without us knowing? This is, like... real flirting here."

"They're being so gross," Wendy agrees.

"Did you see this?" she asks, holding her phone up over her where she has slouched almost completely flat against the floor of the gym. "He had his hand there for a year, I swear."

"Oh my god, I caught the tail end of that, you know when he slid his hand down Mr. Park's arm? I'm gonna throw up."

"Maybe Seulgi's right, are they banging already?" Joy laments.

"There's no way," Yerim says, returning from the vending machines with Irene and sodas in tow. "They don't even have each other's numbers yet."

"Isn't there a registry with the school for that?" Irene asks.

"Anyway," Yerim continues regardless, "They definitely weren't dating before stage set up, and Mr. Do hasn't had time to sleep since, much less sleep _with_ anyone."

"Ok, but did you notice they don't even try to call each other by last name anymore?" Joy points out.

"Oh, Mr. Do has always been awful at remembering that, it was cute," Irene sighs.

"Even if they're not dating yet, there's literally no room for doubt anymore. They're in love," Joy says with an air of finality. "Why have they not kissed?"

"Mr. Park hasn't made a move despite all the _numerous_ opportunities we've given him. I don't think he's gonna," Wendy says.

"A disaster. We should have known better," Joy agrees.

"Dare I say it?" Yerim says, looking at her own camera roll with a matching amount of disgustingly cute pictures of their teachers. "Should we start targeting Mr. Do?"

"Mr. Do is not so easily manipulated," Irene warns.

"I know that, but Mr. Park isn't doing anything! If they're going to get together, I think Mr. Do has to be the one to do it."

"It will be dangerous," Joy says.

"It helps that Mr. Do doesn't know what we're up to. The only real danger is Mr. Park seeing through it," Wendy points out.

"It really was lucky that only Mr. Park found out about the account."

"It should stay that way as long as we ramp up the subtlety," Irene says.

"Yeah, we can't use the same tactics we've been using," Joy agrees. "Well, Yerim? You're the expert here."

Yerim hums in thought as she stares at photos in her phone. A different approach...

\---

There’s so much to do, everything feels like a disaster. The set isn’t done, Chanyeol has just decided their interlude song sucks, and it feels like they will never get the timing right on that fight scene. Chanyeol is ready to roll under his desk and die before the school festival has a chance to begin. He knows Kyungsoo is having a similar time, trying to arrange costumes and props, keeping his director from being too hard on himself, even keeping tabs on the orchestra to make sure the music meshes well with the play. But every time he looks at Kyungsoo he finds him smiling. Not just any smile, it’s that kind of mischievous lopsided one, the one that looks like he’s just thought of a great joke and Chanyeol would really like in on it before he resorts to pulling his hair out.

There’s one week left. It’s a pleasant surprise that the stage isn’t on fire.

The gym is a flurry of activity as they get ready for their dress rehearsal; drama kids in all kinds of different outfits run back and forth across the stage and the orchestra kids are either tuning their instruments or reviewing finger positions for different songs, half of them pacing up and down the isles around the gym. They talk a big game, but this production is bigger than anything they’ve ever done before. It’d be strange if the nerves weren’t starting to get to them.

Kyungsoo claps three times, hard and steady, standing center stage.

“Places guys, let’s get started!”

Chanyeol swallows. Even he feels nervous, but he nods confidently to his kids as they take their seats in a half circle in front of the stage.

“Remember to take your time, Irene. Listen to your musical cues. Mark, Yuta, swing those swords in earnest, let the orchestra hear where you’re at. Techs, how are you doing?”

The lights of the gym dim for a moment, then come back on.

“Whenever you’re ready, Taeyeon-” Kyungsoo is saying as he walks just off set, but Yerim calls out before he and Taeyeon can switch places.

“Mr. Do!” she shouts. “Shouldn’t you be watching from the audience? You can’t see the whole show from back here.”

The gym had been so quiet that it’s impossible not to hear her. There are a few giggles from the usual suspects but that’s a little confusing since she wasn’t even talking to Chanyeol. Every suggestion that comes out of Joy or Yerim’s mouth is guaranteed to be a trap but he can’t really tell what this one is going for.

There’s a pause as Kyungsoo thinks the suggestion over. Their director has sat in the audience a couple times, but Kyungsoo has to supervise the stage hands. He’s never not been back stage for a performance.

“I guess that’s true…” comes Kyungsoo’s faint reply and then he is reluctantly descending the stage, glancing back with furrowed brows like he’s afraid something will break without him there.

Chanyeol watches him pass by and their eyes catch. He tries to flash him a commiserating smile, but something about it makes Kyungsoo snort with a laugh. Then that weird jokey smile is back as Kyungsoo shakes his head and takes a seat a few rows back in their makeshift audience set up.

“Okay, go for it!” he calls out.

Taeyeon takes her place and the lights dim. Chanyeol raises his arms and his students raise their instruments. Then Chanyeol gently draws the music out.

It’s a slow crescendo to set the dramatic night scene, several bars of sweeping legato before the spotlight clicks on and Taeyeon begins her introduction. The music dims, Chanyeol crouching down to lead it and the notes gently weave themselves beneath the monologue.

The introduction ends, and the orchestra’s overture begins in earnest. Chanyeol hoists himself upright and slams his arms in the air to start the song off with a fortissimo bang.

Then he feels it, the prickle up his spine, the eyes on his back. He didn’t think about it before, but Kyungsoo is watching him conduct. It can’t possibly be the first time, he’s pretty sure everyone on the faculty has seen at least one show, but he’s never been conscious of it before. He’s usually conducting in front of a sea of parents who are more focused on their kids than him so he doesn’t think anything of his own methods. His kids play better when he goes all out so he’s developed a habit going harder than he needs to, leaning over his music stand so far he nearly falls over, throwing his hands around so wildly his shirt is almost always untucked by the end of a performance, and that’s never been embarrassing before this exact moment. Now it’s just the tech kids at the back and Kyungsoo there to see him and he has to stop himself from shrinking at the scrutiny.

His kids play better when he goes all out and they’re the ones who matter. He can’t let his stupid crush get in the way of helping his kids play the best they can. (Belatedly he realizes this is probably part of the trap.)

So Chanyeol goes all out like the teacher he knows he is. He bounces around for the market scene to keep his kids playing light and snappy, he crouches so low for the night scene he can’t even see the stage, and he concentrates so hard during the fight scene that he forgets Kyungsoo is behind him for a time. He’s seen Kyungsoo’s passion plenty over the past few weeks, it’s about time Chanyeol showed his own.

They run through the entire performance, including the curtain call, without a single incident. It’s a miracle. More than a few kids shout victoriously. Kyungsoo claps from his place in the audience and then the room is chaos again. Orchestra kids simultaneously celebrate and turn their books back in a flurry to go over their mistakes, drama kids dance or imitate each other's lines or rush to return props back to their starting places. Chanyeol’s heart feels like it’s hammering somewhere up in his throat and he kind of wants to run laps to dislodge it.

He turns around and finds Kyungsoo still watching him from his seat in the audience, his smile soft and fond in that way that makes Chanyeol think he could read something into it.

He’s not an expert like Yerim apparently is, but he thinks he’s getting better at figuring Kyungsoo out. He steps down from his makeshift podium and walks back to take a seat next to him.

Kyungsoo is still smiling up at him as he does.

“You're incredible, you know that?” he says.

Chanyeol still has some figuring out to do because he definitely wasn’t expecting _that_. He laughs off the words with a wave, but his cheeks burn with his embarrassment.

“I didn't think we were _that_ good,” he tries to say.

“I mean it,” Kyungsoo insists. “The orchestra, _your_ orchestra. I'm just here to make sure the kids don't kill themselves and to buy them performance rights but you're in there leading them, you do every performance together with them. It's a lot.” Kyungsoo’s smile goes lopsided and squishes half his face. Chanyeol tries not to swoon. “I’m sure your students can feel it too.”

He fails miserably.

“… Thanks. I think your kids can feel how much you care about them too. I saw it on your face from day one.”

Kyungsoo just smiles up at him and then that damnable quiet that passes between them, the anticipation, the feeling that maybe Chanyeol is hallucinating but it feels like they’re both waiting for the same thing. Chanyeol’s eyes flick down to Kyungsoo’s lips for what must be the tenth time this week.

“… I have notes for you, by the way,” Kyungsoo finally says to snap the tension.

“Oh hell yes, bring it in everybody!” Chanyeol calls out to their kids, and rehearsal proceeds as it should.

\---

Chanyeol has the start of act two stuck in his head and he’s slapping the percussion part against his thighs in double time. He can’t stop fidgeting, he’s amazed he still has hair, he hasn’t eaten since 2:00 am the night before, and he keeps wondering if the entire overture should be scrapped.

It’s performance time. He ran through warm-ups and final notes with his kids in the morning without feeling like he was going to die, but that was hours ago. The nerves really hit Chanyeol when he got to the gym and now, standing here in the wings of the stage listening to parents trickle in as the kids get set up, he’s pretty sure he’s giving his legs bruises with how much he keeps smacking them.

Chanyeol blows out a long breath that does not calm him down in the slightest but he pretends it helps.

“Mr. Park,” Kyungsoo calls to him with a smirk as he meanders in between the side curtains to where Chanyeol has tucked himself away. He’s dressed up in a suit jacket and crisp white shirt for the occasion which he fills out way better than he has any right too.

“Kyungsoo,” he greets, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep from continuing to smack them around.

They stand side by side for a moment and just watch their students bustle about, the stage buzzing with their anticipation. Chanyeol is proud of them, it really is going to be a good show no matter how his nerves shake in his chest. Everyone’s hard work really came together in the end and he’s excited to show it off. When he glances down at Kyungsoo beside him he sees that same smile he saw at their first run through, his pride overflowing from what Chanyeol used to think of as his cool exterior.

Chanyeol’s not an expert yet, but he knows a thing or two at least; nerves are buzzing through Kyungsoo’s veins as well.

“So this is it, huh?” Chanyeol finally says. “I gotta say, I’ll miss having an excuse to see you so often.”

Kyungsoo turns his smile up to Chanyeol.

“I’m sure we can come up with some new excuses if Yerim and her friends don’t make some for us first,” he says as his lips skew up into a smirk.

Oh god. Chanyeol coughs and darts his gaze away.

“So you knew about that.”

“Fifteen year olds don’t have a lot of subtlety,” Kyungsoo tells him. “I mean, they locked us in a closet.”

Chanyeol barks a laugh, his ears burning. “A missed opportunity, honestly. You should see the pictures they’ve got.”

“Chanyeol.”

Kyungsoo is beaming up at him with that soft, fond smile that Chanyeol always wants to read into, and maybe he’s no expert yet, but he thinks he’s got it figured out now. He’s pretty sure he knows what it means when Kyungsoo steps up and starts closing the gap as Chanyeol glances down to his lips. He has ample reason to believe that they both want the same thing.

But as Kyungsoo’s head tilts to the side, Chanyeol can’t help but glance around them, checking for traps.

“Sorry,” he mutters, “if Joy or Yerim see us they will literally scream and I really want to kiss you without that kind of interrup-”

Kyungsoo takes Chanyeol by his shirt and pulls him the rest of the way in, his lips curved into a smirk against Chanyeol’s mouth. Chanyeol melts, his eyes slowly falling shut as he hums into the kiss and lets his arms snake around Kyungsoo’s hips.

Kyungsoo pulls back too soon, but there’s a glint in his eyes that tell him that it will be worth the wait.

“Let’s go for coffee tomorrow,” Kyungsoo says.

“Y-yeah,” Chanyeol stutters out, stupidly breathless. “Let’s do that.”

Kyungsoo smiles up at him for just a moment before he slips away and starts shouting for places. The drama kids scatter and the orchestra kids all scamper into a line in front of the stairs that lead off the stage.

Chanyeol takes a deep breath. The pieces have all lined up better than he could have ever dreamed of and now all that’s left is to put on a great show.

\---

“Alright, settle down!” Chanyeol calls out from his podium. “The district competition is just around the corner, we can’t afford to stop practicing.”

“We’re _above_ competitions, we’re ready to take the drama club on the road with us!” his man at the tympanies shouts back.

“You’re disasters is what you are,” Chanyeol mutters but he can’t help laughing along with his kids. It always takes at least a week to get back on track after a good show, but he can try.

There’s a knock on the door and Kyungsoo pokes his head into the music room. Handsome as always, that Mr. Do.

“Mr Do, what a surprise,” Chanyeol greets with a beaming smile and a spring to his step.

“I just need a moment,” Kyungsoo assures him with a grin that’s just as wide.

Chanyeol shuts the door behind him just in time to hear someone whistle. He rolls his eyes and turns his attention to more pressing matters. Namely, Kyungsoo reaching up to wrap a hand around his neck and pull him down into a kiss.

Chanyeol sighs into Kyungsoo’s mouth as their lips slide together. He pulls Kyungsoo flush against him and Kyungsoo smiles into his skin as they both savor each other’s warmth.

Then he pulls away before Chanyeol can fall fully into it. He’s always pulling away too soon for Chanyeol’s liking.

“I’ll see you later,” Kyungsoo mutters. He drags his hand down Chanyeol’s chest like a promise.

“A productive meeting as always, Mr. Do, thanks,” Chanyeol says with a grin.

Kyungsoo laughs with a smile that squishes his whole face and then they both hurry back to their clubs before their students can get out of hand.

(After practice he finds the instagram account has two story updates, a new post, and 12 more followers, but Chanyeol doesn’t mind it so much anymore.)

**Author's Note:**

> [Twitter.](https://twitter.com/ExoMomFriend)


End file.
